Holly Bible - KJV with Concise Commentaries by Z Selam - HTML preview
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
FOREWORD
Then the spirit said unto Philip, go near, and join thyself to this chariot, and Philip ran thither
to him, and heard him read the prophet Isaiah, and said, understandest thou what thou
readest? And he said, how can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip
that he would come up and sit with him. Acts 8:29-31.
The man happened to have been reading one of the great prophecies about the coming of
Christ and his suffering, and Philip had the privilege of telling the Ethiopian the good news
about Jesus. When the Ethiopian in the chariot said, “How can I [understand Isaiah], unless
someone explains it to me?” he displayed the curiosity and teach-ability that is essential for
all followers of Jesus. In that moment, Philip was a kind of commentary for a man who simply
needed help with the historical and linguistic meanings of the text of Isaiah.
A Bible commentary is a series of notes explaining the meaning of passages of scripture. A
commentary may explain the language used in a section of text. Or it may discuss the
historical background. Almost all commentaries attempt to explain the passage in terms of
some system of theology. Since a Bible commentary is written by human authors, it will
reflect the beliefs and perspective of those writers.
Through a personal narrative, Bible commentaries provide deeper understanding and insight
into the Bible and can be used to assist both casual readers of the Bible and those who pursue
serous study.
Commentaries are widely used in personal Bible study. The advantage of a Bible commentary
is that one can quickly gain perspective on the text’s meaning, as understood by the
commentary’s author. One caution concerning Bible commentaries is that they should not
be used instead of personal study; rather, they are designed for use in addition to personal
study. Since the commentary itself is not Scripture, it’s important for a reader to weigh what
he reads against other sources, as well as his own Spirit-led analysis. As the products of fallible
people, commentaries are not necessarily correct in every word.
When we read the Bible, we can have complete confidence that is God speaking and not man.
The phrase “thus says the Lord” or “tell the people” appears over a thousand times in the
Bible because it is God speaking through the authors of the Bible. Even when a prophet of
God spoke, they never once spoke for themselves but only for God. The Apostle Paul knew that
“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction,
and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every
good work” (2 Tim 3: 16-17). All scripture includes the Old Testament as well as the New
Testament. The Apostle Peter would agree with Paul’s statement as he wrote that “no
prophecy of scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever
Produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy
Spirit” (2 Pet 1:20-21) peter considered Paul’s writings as Scripture as peter wrote of Paul’s
letters or epistles, “there are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the
ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction as they do the other Scriptures” (2 Pet
3:16) so this shows clearly that, Scripture includes the New Testament too. We trust the Bible
over anything that anyone else writes but what about study Bibles or Bible Commentaries? Can
we trust them?
Bible commentaries are not inspired by God. They might be written by inspired men who
have the spirit of God but that is never going to be equal to Scripture. It cannot override
Scripture. It is only a man who writes and not God who inspires the words. Their comments
might be inspiring but they are not inspired. These commentaries can be written under the
guidance of the Holy Spirit but they are not God-breathed like the Bible itself is.
Commentaries are never “thus says the Lord” in value. When you are not sure about a subject
or need clarity or background on a verse or paragraph in a chapter, commentaries can be a
great help in bringing understanding to the verses but their understanding can never
contradict what the Scriptures say or you’ve got the wrong Bible commentary. If you’re not
sure about a Bible passage and you don’t agree with or aren’t sure about a commentators
comments, then it’s best to just wait, move on, or find a trusted Christian mentor, elder,
deacon, teacher, or pastor. The reading, understanding, and application of biblical truth have
always been functions of the Christian community. The words of the prophets and apostles
were directed at God’s people (plural) at the start, and must be a community endeavor now.
That is why we do personal Bible study, but we engage with others in Bible studies in homes
and office buildings and schools and churches.
It is advisable to have as many Bible commentaries as possible because it is so helpful to see
how other men view certain passages and to see if anyone can learn something from them.
They might have insight that he doesn’t have. They might have read something in the
passage that he missed. Like the proverb that says “Without counsel plans fail, but with many
advisers they succeed” (Prov. 15:22) and in a similar manner, the wise counsel that is often
found in study Bible’s or commentaries can help us make better decisions when the Bible
appears to be silent on a particular subject. It’s a great idea for those who desire the office
of a pastor, deacon, elder, or teacher to have as many Bible study resources as they can get
like Bible atlas’, Bible concordances, Bible dictionaries, Greek or Hebrew lexcons, but also a
study Bible or Bible commentary. Some call them study Bibles but they are usually the same
thing since they have footnotes and comments concerning different Bible verses. Some study
Bible’s or Bible commentaries might even include Scriptures to support the commentator’s
comments.
In general, there are four types of Bible commentaries, each useful for the intended purpose
to aid in the study of Scripture.
1. Expository: expository commentaries are typically written by pastors and expository Bible
teachers who teach verse by verse through the Bible. These commentaries usually include
teaching notes, outlines, illustrations and practical applications of the authors’ study and
teaching on the books of the Bible.
2. Exegetical: exegetical commentaries are typically written by Bible scholars and
theologians. They are more technical academic in nature, concentrating on the original
languages, context or grammar of the text. These commentaries are written by some
of the most knowledgeable theologians in church history.
3. Devotional: devotional commentaries are designed to enhance the readers’ personal
reflection and practical application of the Bible text. They are geared for times of soul-
searching and listening for the voice and heart of God through the text.
4. Cultural: cultural commentaries are meant to help readers gain an understanding of
the cultural background of the Bible text.
Bible commentaries usually come in massive volumes – one for each book of the Bible! The
print version of all volumes of word Biblical Commentary series would take up seven feet on
our bookshelf. This is probably one of the biggest reasons that most people are in love with
electronic Bible resources.
When we’re doing in-depth study of biblical passages, we should read two or three or more
commentaries, making notes as we read. We will quickly see where the commentators agree
on the meaning and the emphases of texts, and we will gather numerous details not obvious
with the simple reading of the text. We collect, for instance, these concise commentaries
from Mathew Henry’s Complete Commentary (MHC), Albert Barnes’ New Testament Notes,
Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament by William Burkitt,
Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown Bible Commentary (JFB), The People’s New
Testament (PNT), John Wesley’s Notes on the Bible and others.
When it comes to choosing which specific commentaries to use, we note the type of
commentary suited to our purpose (above). Then, we should note the theological
assumptions of the commentators. Some scholars look at the Bible simply as one more
human text, and they analyze it on purely linguistic and historical bases. On the other hand,
scholars who believe in the divine inspiration and unique character of scripture will take
things like miracles and the resurrection of Christ as historical realities, and will look for the
cohesive themes of the revelation of God in Holy Scripture.
Most commentators agree on many issues; but sometimes they might be even reproached
for heresies. For example, Albert Barnes had been tried (but not convicted) for heresy in
1836, mostly due to the views he expressed in Notes on Romans (1834) of the imputation of
the sin of Adam, original sin, and the atonement. Therefore, just as we would prayerfully
evaluate a sermon, evaluate the contents of any resource we read.
FINALLY, NO MATTER WHICH VERSION OF STUDY BIBLE OR COMMENTARY WE USE TRUST
ONLY THE WORD OF GOD. FOR VERILY I SAY UNTO YOU, TILL HEAVEN AND EARTH PASS, ONE
JOT OR ONE TITTLE SHALL IN NO WISE PASS FROM THE LAW, TILL ALL BE FULFILLED.
WHOSOEVER THEREFORE SHALL BREAK ONE OF THESE LEAST COMMANDMENTS, AND SHALL
TEACH MEN SO, HE SHALL BE CALLED THE LEAST IN THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN; BUT
WHOSOEVER SHALL DO AND TEACH THEM, THE SAME SHALL BE CALLED GREAT IN THE
KINGDOM OF HEAVEN. MATH 5:18-19.
DISCLAIMER NOTICE
ANY MODIFICATION, DISTORTION OR MISSING OF SPELLING,
PHRASE/PHRASES, VERSE/VERSES OR SENTENCE/SENTNCES
FROM THE ORIGINAL KJV 1611 MIGHT BE CREATED DUE TO
COPY/PASTE ERROR. SO, ADHERE TO THE ORIGINAL 1611
KING JAMES VERSION BIBLE FOR ANY NONCONFIRMITY, IF
ANY.
THE WORD OF GOD ABIDES FOREVER.